Starting device for internal-combustion engines.



No. 68l,523. A Patented Aug. 27, IBM. A. 0. VERY.

STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL cmNBusTmN ENGINES.

(Application filed Jan. 25, 1901.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

ALPHA O. VERY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE-S.

SPEQIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,523, dated August27, 1901.

Application filed January 25,1901. Serial No. 44.664. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALPHA O. VERY, aciti zen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Spring-field, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in StartingDevices for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to internal-explosion engines, and pertainsparticularly to starting devices for engines of this class. v

It is well known that in engines of this class to start them it isnecessary to give to the crankshaft a few revolutions in order to drawin a charge of explosive mixture and to explode the same to set up theautomatic movements of the machine. This is usually done by means of acrank fitted on the end of the crank-shaftandturnedbyhand. Whentheseengines are applied to motor-vehicles, this operation necessitates thestarting of the motor before mounting the vehicle, or if the motor isstopped for any cause when the vehicle is moving then the operator mustget out of the wagon and apply the crank, as stated, to start up again.

The object of this invention is to provide means for starting the motorwhen the operator is on the seat and therefore in position to controlthe vehicle; and it consists in the construction set forth in thefollowing specification and clearly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification,Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a motor-vehicle having myinvention applied thereto. Fig. 2is a sectional elevation of aspring ratchet-drum secured to thecrank-shaft of the motor. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same,partlybroken away. Figs. 2 and 3 are shown of substantially the naturalsize of the parts.

In carrying out my invention I apply a spring ratchet-drum to thecrank-shaft of the engine, and around this drum I applya chain, one endof which is attached to the drum and the free end of whichis secured tothe wagonbody, and a lever extending up within reach of the operator hasan engagement with this chain when the lever is operated,whereby bymeans of the latter said ratchet-drum may rotate the crank-shaft oftheengine, the spring in the drum swinging the operatinglever back tonormal position again when the lever is released. These various devicesare constructed as follows:

The ratchet-drum is constructed by applying an annular cup-shaped piecea over the end of the crankshaft b of the motor, a portion of the latterbeing indicated by c. Said piece a is loose on the crank-shaft and issocured to the motor by screws, as shown, or otherwise. The ratchetmember d is provided with a hub e, which extends into said piece a. Thisratchet member is secured to the crank-shaft b bya set-screw or othersuitable means. member there is mounted the sprocket-wheel f, whose hublikewise projects into said cupshaped piece a. This constructionprovides for an annular space inside of the member a for a coiled springg, the outer end of which is made fast to the piece a and the other endof which is secured to the hub of the sprocketwheel, all as shown inFig. 2. On the ratchet member d the teeth hare provided,which are shownclearlyin Fig. 3, these teeth lying under a flange e on thesprocket-wheel. The teeth are cut with rather long inclines,which,together with the flange 1 form tapering pocketsglin each of which isplaced a steel roller 7c, co stituting a well-known form of clutch. Asprocket-chain I has one end thereof secured to a tooth of the wheel f,and said chain after encircling said sprocket has its free end securedto the wagon-body, as at m,Fig.1. This chain is of such length as topermit it to be looped over a small sprocket wheel a, as shown in Fig.1, which is carried 011 the lower end of a lever 0, pivotally supportedat any convenient point, as p, in the body of the wagon. Preferably thelever is so bent as to conform to the forward end of the body, as shownin Fig. 1, whereby when it is in its position of rest it will be out ofthe way. This lever, preferably, is located on that side of thewagon-body on which the chain is located, but not necessarily, for thesaid pivot-pin 19 may take the form of a rod, if desired, runningtransversely of the wagon-body, on one end of which rod the ehainengaging end of the lever 0 could be secured and on the'op- 011 the hube of the ratchet IOC ' ver.

posite end thereof the handle end of said le- In practice instead of asprocket-wheel f the chain maybe applied to a drum, whereby the chainmay be given more than one turn spirally around the drum. Ordinarily,however, the sprocket construction shown herein may be made of suchdiameter as will impart the necessary rotation to the crankshaft of themotor.

In the end of the ratchet memberda notch q is provided, whereby theengine may be given the necessary rotative impulses by means of a crankapplied to the crank-shaft and engaging by means of a suitableprojection thereon said notch g. It will be observed that the rotationsmay be imparted ,to the crank-shaft manually by means of a crank, asdescribed, or by means at the chain land lever 0 independently one ofthe other.

From the above description of the starting device it will be seen thatvery convenient means are afforded for imparting the initial rotation toan internal-combustion engine for starting the same and that by means ofthe spring-drum and an operating-lever engaging a loop of the chain, asshown, it gives a very powerful and elastic connection with the motoreasily accessible to and easily operated by a person on the seat of theVehicle.

While a specific form of spring ratchetdrum has been described herein, Ido not confine myself to this particular construction, for it is obviousthat other forms of ratchetdrums of this nature could readily besubstituted therefor.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination with the crank-shaft of an explosion-engine, of aratchet-drum on said shaft, a flexible member secured. by one end to thedrum and passing therearound, and fixedly secured by its opposite end; apivotally-supported lever engaging said flexible member between itsends, whereby the swinging of the lever will rotate said drum andcrank-shaft, in one direction, substantially as described.

2. In a motor-vehicle provided with an explosion engine, the combinationwith the crank-shaft of the engine, of a pivotally-supported leverlocated in proximity to the seat of the vehicle, a spring ratchet-drumon said crank-shaft for rotating it-in one direction, a sprocket-chainencircling the drum and attached thereto by one end, and having itsopposite end attached to the vehicle, a sprocket- Wheel on one end ofsaid lever and engaging said chain, whereby the swinging of said 1everwill rotate said drum and crank-shaft, substantially as described.

ALPHA O. VERY.

Witnesses:

HELEN A. GRIFFIN, WM. H. UHAPIN.

